Kneeling in the Silver Light

Kneeling in the Silver Light: Stories from the Great War

Edited by Dean M Drinkel

Cover art by Chris Rawlins

ISBN 978-0-9929809-1-7

“The Unknown Soldier” … “On the Side of the Angels” … “The Wolves of Vimy” … “The Secret of Blackwater Island” … “Where the White Long Roadway Lies” … Here are nineteen stories that look back on the horrors of The Great War, stories in the tradition of Arthur Machen’s “The Bowmen”, which gave rise to the myth of the Angel of Mons. Here are tales that create their own myths of that terrible war.

The Dead by Rupert Brooke

The Scent Of Roses by Christopher Fowler

On the Side of the Angels by Mary Pletsch

Fernackerpan by Peter Mark May

Unknown Soldier by Nancy Hayden

The Blinds by Thomas Strømsholt

The Iron Shovel by Amberle L. Husbands

Where The White Long Roadway Lies by Mike Chinn

The Wire by Stephanie Ellis

Yugen by David Thomas

The Wolves Of Vimy by David Jón Fuller

The Silk Angel by Christine Morgan

Dig by Daniel I. Russell

The Secret of Blackwater Island by Rima Devereaux

After The Harvest by Bryn Fortey

A Very Strange Tunnelling Company by Paul Woodward

Casualties by Anthony Hanks

Truce by Shaun A.J. Hamilton

Morningstar by Emile-Louis Tomas Jouvet

Somme-Nambula by Allen Ashley

The Treasure by Rupert Brooke

Dean says: “I wanted to mark the hundred years anniversary of the Great War – I wasn’t sure whether to make a film or write a play and after much deliberation decided on compiling an anthology of genre stories. Following a meeting I had with Peter Coleborn of The Alchemy Press and after pitching him the idea, Kneeling In The Silver Light was born. In our call for stories, we were clear on the tales we wanted to include. I was also keen to have as many female writers as possible involved as well as different voices from around the world. We were successful with all our requests. The writers have tried to be as reverential as possible but importantly the aim of the anthology was to tell a damn good story – I hope you will agree that they too have been successful. Enjoy.”

Only £9.99. Available from Amazon UK / Amazon USA and other online stores. Also ready for your Kindle (ePub edition is available).

“WWI ushered in the 20th century with its technological and chemical advances for killing resulting in death and horror for millions of soldiers and civilians. If you’ve ever wanted to learn about WWI without wading through the history books, this is the short story collection for you. These are horror and dark fantasy stories set in WWI, but the real horror comes from the depiction of WWI soldiers in the trenches, burying their dead, in their flimsy airplanes, and trying to get home in one piece. All the stories are written by different authors, both men and women, from many different countries, yet the placement of the stories within the anthology builds on one another. The reader enhances their understanding of the “horror” of WWI by reading sequentially even though each story is stand alone. A fantastic read with great characters and plots. I thoroughly enjoyed it.” — Nancy J Hayden